NC Man Pretended To Be Army Officer, Landing Helicopter At SAS Headquarters: DOJ

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A Raleigh man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for pretending to be a United States Army Lieutenant General and transporting someone in a helicopter, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to the release, Christian Gerald Desgroux, 57, pretended to be a lieutenant general in the Army while transporting a person to a classified briefing. Desgroux also pretended that he had the authority to land the helicopter at SAS headquarters in Cary.

All of his actions were in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 912, the DOJ said.

Desgroux faces maximum penalties of three years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release following any prison term he may serve.

Desgroux was in court Wednesday afternoon but did not have a lawyer. He is scheduled to be back in court Thursday morning.